Arise, Burning Phoenix!
by penofjade
Summary: Karin Kurosaki had always been spiritually aware. However, one day, when Yuzu needed her help, she heard the sound of bells and a giggling laugh. Now she wields the power of a Shinigami, yet no one can discover the source of her power. What's going on?
1. The Sound of Bells

A/N: Well, I just rewrote most of this chapter...I read over it and just didn't like it. It's still the same scene, I just tweaked it a bit.

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><p>Karin Kurosaki was no different then any other athletic seventeen year old. Sure, she could see ghosts and her brother was a Shinigami, but that's just the way life was. Karin had grown up with weird stuff going on all around her. Her father was a perfect example! He would talk to the poster of his dead wife as though there were actually some way for her to respond. Isshin accused her of being cold; she preferred the term pragmatic. She was captain of her school's soccer team, which meant she needed to be realistic when it came to setting goals and meeting them. Having a father who conversed with a poster was neither practical nor normal.<p>

Beginning to stretch, she waited for her teammates to arrive, one of whom had the soccer balls. The field was quickly set up and everyone else went about doing their own warm ups as Karin studied the clip board that had the schedule for that days practice attached to it. Halfway through practice, however, she began to feel uneasy. Shivers began traveling up and down her spine for no reason. She covertly glanced around, looking to see if the source of the unsettling feelings were from humans or _another_ source. Seeing nothing, she turned her attention back to the practice and prayed that whatever was coming would hold off until after the other girls had left.

She was pleased to see that her prayers had been answered as the last girl jogged away from the field, heading home for dinner. Karin would have been doing the same, but she wanted to be out in the open when whatever it was arrived. She had even gone ahead and kept the soccer balls, just in case it was what she thought it was. Sure enough, not two minutes after the last girl's footfalls had faded away, a low rumble reverberated through her feet. Jumping backward, she barely missed being grabbed by a large, clawed hand.

As the dust cleared, Karin was able to make out the familiar, horrifying shape of a Hollow. Its masked face leered evilly as it crouched before her. Karin narrowed her eyes, watching for any movement which would alert her to its attack. It, however, seemed more inclined to make small talk then to actually get on with it. "So you are Kurosaki's sister... Impressive. Not many would have been able to avoid me that easily." It sniffed the air, and, if it were possible, the leer got bigger. Karin stayed loose, ready to move at a the first sign of trouble. "You smell _wonderful_...In fact, you smell rather like one of _them_...like a Shinigami. I know you aren't though...huh...must be the smell rubbing off on you...Now hold still like a good girl and let me see how marvelous you taste!" And with that, he lunged. Karin had been waiting all during his one sided conversation, so it wasn't that difficult for her to skip out of the way. She stayed loose, dodging his attacks easily enough. It hadn't expected her to do so well at avoiding him. It'd basically told her that already.

She figured her brother or Rukia would show up eventually and get rid of the thing; she didn't foresee any problem holding him off until them. That was, until she felt the _second _one coming. She sighed. 'Crap,' she said to herself. 'I didn't want to ruin a soccer ball, but...I suppose it can't be–'. Her train of thought abruptly stopped. Not only was it another Hollow, it had something grasped in one large, clawed hand. "Yuzu!" she called, stopping in her sidestepping just a second too long. She was flying through the air before it even registered that she'd been hit. Landing in a ball, her hands stung and her arms ached from the sudden landing. She rolled over just in time to avoid being grabbed. Hurriedly, she faced both of Hollows.

So the first one had been stalling so its partner would be able to get Yuzu… Karin's hands clenched over her abused palms and her breathing deepened. Her younger twin was _her_ responsibility! She had failed to keep Yuzu safely away from the Hollows. Karin's eyes locked onto her twin and never wavered, even as the first hollow rushed her. Not taking her eyes off her sister, she moved faster than the creature could blink, reappearing in front of its friend. Her brother and the other Shinigamis did something like that, but she'd never paid too much attention to it. In fact, looking back, she couldn't have explained how she'd done it. She'd merely wanted to get to her sister, and there she was.

The surprised Hollow before her took a half-step back, and Karin launched herself up in the air, planting a round house to the side of his head. Grabbing Yuzu as her captor fell, she disappeared again. Coming to a stop behind a row of trees a mile away or so, she lay her sister down. She didn't want her to get hurt by any flying Hollow parts. She was breathing, it just looked as though she'd fainted. Standing back up, Karin looked towards the soccer field. This time she wasn't going to just run away. She wasn't going to wait for her brother, either. She was tired of being rescued. This time, _she _would handle the situation. Taking a running leap, she reappeared before the two Hollows, who were rolling their heads around, trying to find her scent.

Karin didn't even say anything as both of the Hollows turned towards her. She felt her hair ruffle up a little in the wind before she remembered that there was no wind. Indeed, the air was perfectly calm. That couldn't be right, though. Her hair was most definitely moving. As she stood there, a soft ringing sound came to her. As the noise grew louder, the petite figure of a young woman appeared before her. "You have need of me, correct?" came the questioning voice of the being before her.

"Who are you?" Karin asked, watching the two Hollows approach in slow motion behind her.

"I'm…well, I'm your zanpakuto," said the girl, a little hesitantly.

"I think you've got the wrong person," said Karin, moving her eyes back and forth between the ghost image and the nightmares.

"But, that's not possible!" she said, her eyes narrowing slightly and her brow furrowing. "I've always been inside you…So how can I not be your zanpakuto?"

"Look," was Karin's answer, "I don't know who you are, but if you really are a zanpakuto, could you help me out here?"

Glancing over her shoulder, the young woman took in the two creatures quickly, "I don't think that would be a problem…And that way, we can protect your sister, correct?" Her desire to help, even though Karin had not been too kind, made the human feel slightly guilty.

Nodding her head, she watched as the brunette before her held a hand towards her. On the palm and traveling down her wrist, she could see a design drawn in red. A small ball of fire appeared there after a moment or two.

"Now what?" Karin asked.

"You pick it up. Simple as pie, correct?" came the answer, the girls head cocked to one side.

"Right," Karin said as she tentatively reached out and touched the fire. As the girl began fading away, she asked, "But…Now what?"

"Just say my name!"

"But you didn't tell me your name!" Karin was getting a little panicked now.

"You already know it. All you have to do is remember, correct?" the voice was so soft now, she could barely make it out.

As she opened her mouth to argue, three words popped into her head. Did she really know the name already. As the Hollow was nearly upon her now, she decided to try. "Arise, Honoo Fennikusu!" At the words, the little ball of flame shot out into a red hot projection that instantly solidified into the thinnest sword Karin had ever seen. Just managing to move away from the Hollow's fist, she spun around and jumped, slashing the sword towards its mask. Cracking it in two, she watched as it began to dissolve away. From there, she whirled and rushed at the other grotesque form, driving her sword into its forehead.

Only after the two Hollows had disappeared did she notice something extra about the sword in her hand. Wrapped loosely around the hilt and her fingers and traveling up her arm, was a bright crimson ribbon. Holding it to her upper arm was a slim gold armband, and at her wrist there were three bangles.

"You are happy, correct?" asked the woman as she materialized once again in front of Karin. She was still ghostly, but at least Karin wasn't having to watch Hollows through her anymore.

Karin could only nod, as she stared at the sword in her hand. Was there something up with her family? How come both she and Ichigo could wield a zanpakuto. Remembering her manners at last, she bowed towards the woman and said, "Thank you very much for your help. That could have gotten very ugly if you hadn't shown up."

"I'm part of you Karin," said the woman, her eyes smiling along with her mouth. "I'm still learning, but I do know this: I would be a very bad zanpakuto if I let you die when I could do something to assist." Her form began fading away once again, the bangles on her right arm catching the light as she did so.

It was at that moment she felt them. Several seconds later, three heads came into view. "Karin!" her brother yelled as he reached the field. Rukia and the other runner, who proved to be Renji, were close behind. They all came to a dumbfounded stop, however, when they were confronted with an empty field and Karin Kurosaki wielding a very thin, very sharp zanpakuto. "Karin?" stuttered Ichigo, "Wha..what? Where did you get that?"

Karin sighed, rolling her eyes. "I thought _you_ were the Shinigami! Aren't you the one who's supposed to be explaining this to _me_? Anyway, I'm hungry, let's go get Yuzu so that we can have dinner...I just did a full soccer practice and dealt with two Hollows...I think I deserve something sweet-and-sour." And with that, she looked down at her hand, the sword, glowing red orange, disappeared. For a moment, the same markings on the woman's hand were etched onto her own. They then slowly faded away, along with the sound of a faint tinkling, as of bells.

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><p>Note:<br>*Honoo Fenikkusu - Phoenix Fire, Flame Phoenix

I had originally planned for her to say the swords name in English, but then I decided to do what they do in the anime and say the name in Japanese. If I was having her say the whole command in Japanese, "arise" would be replaced by "Tachiagaru" (which means rise, stand up). That seemed a little too unnatural, though, so I left that part out. Hope that makes sense!


	2. Math Class

The next few days passed quickly for Karin. Just because she now possessed a zanpakuto did not, apparently, mean she was free from school. Sitting in the classroom, watching the teacher write math problems on the board, was not something she had ever really enjoyed doing, but now it was even worse. She attempted to draw out her powers when she was alone, but it never worked. In fact, she couldn't even get the sword to respond when the Shinigami started giving her lessons. While she would never tell anyone else, including Yuzu, that she feared it had all been a fluke, she couldn't help but worry. What if it had all been a mistake? What if she had never been meant to use those powers? Had she done something wrong? After a few minutes, she would usually begin to force the thoughts away. What good would they do her? No one, in her world or the other, seemed to have a clue about what had happened that day on the field.

A few captains had come to her house with Ichigo and Rukia one day to ask her questions and try to gauge her powers. Nothing had happened. They did their rituals and said their chants, stood still for what felt an eternity, and then looked around in confusion. They hadn't felt anything beyond her normal level of spiritual power. It was apparently the same as it had always been.

Ichigo had reacted even before she did. "What do you mean, 'Nothing there?' We saw her with a zanpakuto!"

"Perhaps you were misled into thinking you had seen one..."came the first voice.

"And the power? How do you explain the surge we felt when she pulled it out?"

"..." None of them seemed to have an answer for that.

Rukia stepped in and added, "Sirs, I have been a shinigami for quite some time. I know what I felt. It was not normal...It actually reminded me of Ichigo's power. I don't understand how you would be unable to find anything."

The elders had left shortly after that, still unsure of what the two young people had felt, but not convinced that the small girl with dark hair and guarded eyes had true power. Karin had merely shrugged her shoulders and gone back, as best she could, to the everyday routine.

Inside, however, she was hunting through every nook and cranny, trying her hardest to uncover what she had felt that day. She knew without a doubt that something very abnormal had occurred that day. It had taken only moments for her to kill the Hollows, and she could still feel the sword in her hand as it made contact with their masks. But, no matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find the girl and her fire. One night, lying in bed, she even held one of her hands out before her in the dark and whispered the words to herself, "Arise, Burning Phoenix!" Nothing. Over and over again: nothing. She was beginning to get frustrated with it all.

Then it happened. Why it happened in her math class, she could never say. Why it needed to take place at that exact moment will probably forever remain a mystery. The walls echoed with the ghostly sound of a Hollow's scream. Then it happened again. And again. And again. On and on the noise went, reaching the point where the building itself seemed to be shaking. The teacher and the other students, shouting "earthquake!" at the top of their lungs, dove under their desks. Karin, however, kept staring at the door. How many were there? She had never before heard that many Hollows at one time. She lost count at fifteen. Where was Ichigo? Or Rukia? Why weren't they here? Surely that many had to have alerted the Shinigamis!

As the screams and wails continued, however, something began to dawn on her. Hollows especially loved the taste of a Shinigami. Or someone who had strong spirit awareness. Someone like her...

Standing from her desk, she rushed towards the door, ignoring the voice of her teacher telling her to get back to her seat and hunker down. Running into the hallway, she jerked open the window and stuck her head out. What she saw terrified her. They were everywhere! Crawling up the sides of the building, shuffling through the courtyard three stories below…everywhere. And there wasn't a Shinigami in sight.

Lurching back from the window, Karin stood stock still against the wall. As though the open window had alerted them to her presence, they began moving towards her side of the building. As she stood, frozen, a sound as of bells rose all around her. A face and then a form began to appear in the air on her right.

In less time than it took for her to aim a soccer ball, the same girl stood before her, eyes wide in her small face. "I believe you have need of me, correct?"

Karin just nodded, her eyes sweeping back towards the Hollows who had been quickly approaching the windows. They were now moving just as slowly as they had the day before when the girl had appeared. As the girl held out her hand, the little ball of flame dancing merrily on her palm, Karin asked, "Why can't anybody else find you? Why can't I find you?"

The girl's eyes widened even more, if that were possible, before sliding half closed. Her expression became melancholy. "I do not know…""How can you not know?" was Karin's demand.

"I am still very young, and I still have much to learn…"

"But aren't you supposed to know these things? You _are_ my zanpakuto, right?"

"Yes…" here the transparent girl heaved a small sigh, "And I am sorry, but I do not have that answer."

Karin, not wanting to make her feel any worse, sighed herself and said as kindly as she could due to the circumstances, "Well…I'm sure that this will all make sense at some point. I might as well go destroy some Hollows, right?"

"That is correct!" replied the other, her face brightening almost instantly.

As the fire settled into her palm and the girl began to fade away again, Karin could only hope that her statement was indeed true. It couldn't be good that her own zanpakuto didn't know how this was supposed to work. As the warmth spread in palm, she yelled it's name before jumping out the window directly into the face of the first Hollow.


	3. Urahara Investigates

A/N: This chapter will probably feel a bit like a filler, but it is there for a reason. I didn't want to just tell you what was going on with Honoo, so I thought I'd bring in Urahara to do that. I definitely do not want to end up with a Mary Sue fic here, so I can't make this too easy for Karin and her zanpakuto.

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><p>Her second fight was proving to be just a tad more difficult than her first. Granted, she was facing a much larger Hollow army this time. She tried to keep track of how many there were, but they were moving too fast and she was dodging too many blows to be very successful. Her zanpakuto was moving through the air as quickly as she could swing it, but she knew she didn't have the expertise which the Shinigami did. If one, or half a dozen, of them didn't show up soon, she was probably going to see what a Hollow snack felt like as it was digested.<p>

She could feel herself losing energy after only a few minutes. Even though her zanpakuto didn't seem to know much about being one, she decided it couldn't hurt to throw a question her direction. 'What exactly am I supposed to do to make you stronger?'

The girl appeared next to her in the translucent state she seemed to like so much. 'Stronger?' she asked, her forehead puckering. 'I'm afraid this as strong as I am…At least for right now.' The girls hands were held up in a praying position. 'Is it not enough for you?' Her eyes widened as she gazed worriedly at Karin.

'I'm afraid not,' was the girl's response as she sidestepped a lumbering Hollow who had come at her from the right. 'Are you sure you don't have any more power for me to use?'

'I don't think so…' came the sword's answer. 'I haven't been awake very long, you see. There's a lot about me that I haven't discovered yet.'

'Oh,' was Karin's response as the girl began to fade out again. 'Well…I suppose we'll just have to hope my brother or one of the others shows up soon.'

It happened just as the world reverted to its normal speed again. An arm swung towards her from the left and a body came at her from the front. She dodged the one but not the other. It was as she flew towards the school building that she thought, 'This just might be it, after all.'

With a thud, her back smacked into the brick. Pain exploded throughout her body and, as she crumpled to the ground several feet below, she saw the recognizable forms of Shinigami arriving. 'It's about time,' was the last thing she thought before her world drifted into darkness. After that, all was black.

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><p>She lay in the darkness, all alone, for what seemed an eternity. However, as she lay there, she thought she could hear something. At first, it was indistinct, but as the never-ending moments ticked by, it solidified into the familiar tinkling of bells. She lay, there, unable to move. She couldn't even turn her head.<p>

A face appeared over hers, and the soft voice of her zanpakuto said, quietly, "It's alright, I'm here…I'll keep watch, so don't worry." And as time slowly slipped past, the small sword held her master as carefully as possible. Karin appreciated the gesture, although, if she had been able, she probably would have shaken the girl off. No one, not even Yuzu, held her like that anymore. She had to be the strong one, after all. She had to be able to do as much work as anyone else. She would not be a burden.

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><p>When her eyes once again opened into the world of light and sound, she groaned. The glow of the lamp seemed overly bright and her neck and back were yelling at her for treating them like that. The noise, however, seemed to do nothing but create more commotion, for it didn't take long before half of everyone who was anyone seemed to be peering down at her. Blinking, still attempting to make her eyes focus, she heard voices asking all sorts of questions. Before she could even try to sort out one so she could answer it, the unmistakable voice of Urahara rose over them all.<p>

"Everyone, please, you're not doing the girl any good by smothering her like that." His voice didn't make everyone disappear, but at least they pulled back so she could see some of the ceiling again. She found that if she was very careful, she could turn her head. Looking to her left, she saw that a good dozen people were crowded into the room she shared with Yuzu.

Urahara approached her and knelt down so they were close to eye level. "If they'd been smart, they would have called me in about this. How are you feeling?"

"Like I was thrown into a brick building. You?" She couldn't help it…She was in pain.

He chuckled and sat down all the way. "I have a few questions for you Karin, regarding your zanpakuto."

She turned her gaze back to the ceiling, which, she just realized, had a barely discernible crack traveling across it. "I don't know what I can tell you that I haven't already told the others."

"Why don't you start and I'll see if I need anything clarified."

Deciding that would be better than having no breathing room again, she told the blonde man in the hat everything she could remember about her brief encounters with her zanpakuto. Every once in awhile he would nod or make some noise, but she pretty much ignored him. The quicker she said it all, the better.

"You said that she doesn't seem to know much about being a zanpakuto?" he asked, when she reached the end and lapsed into silence. Everyone else had also grown quiet as she talked, listening intently to what she had to say.

"Yeah…It's like she's learning with me. Is that normal?" she asked, turning her head to once again face him.

His eyes were shadowed by the brim of his hat, so she couldn't tell what he was thinking. A moment or so passed before he raised his head and met her gaze. "No, it's not. Not for most zanpakuto, anyway. They have access to a part of you which is usually beyond your reach. But yours seems unable, or perhaps unwilling, to use the information which is stored there. Yet you know her name?"

"I knew it as soon as she told me I did."

"I see…You say that the sword appears after she hands you a small ball of fire? Most interesting."

"Do you know something about Honoo?"

"No more than what you've just told me. However, I think I might know something about her powers."

Everyone drew a little nearer at that. Ichigo couldn't help but ask, "What's up with Karin? Does she really have a zanpakuto?"

Rukia slapped the back of his head and looked at him as though he had just asked if he could go for a swim with a group hungry crocodiles.

Urahara continued as though he hadn't heard the question. "I'll need to go look a few things up, just to make sure, but it seems to me that you truly have awakened a very special zanpakuto. In fact, it's one which isn't seen very often."

As he stood to leave, the noise level rose again, although it followed him as he left the room. Soon, Karin was alone, with nothing but the crack in the ceiling for company. She stared at it until she drifted into the empty darkness once again.

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><p>Please review and let me know what you think. Reviews feed starving writers ^.^<p> 


	4. Into the Darkness

A/N: Just so you don't think I'm sitting here writing filler chapters, this one is _important_. The information you get about Karin's inner world plays a vital role in how the story goes from here on out. I know it isn't terribly long, and I'm sorry. However, I would rather write short chapters that make sense, than long ones which are just confusing.

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><p>It was neither warm nor cold. It was just dark. She lay there, somewhere in the middle of nothing, and waited. She did this every night, although sometimes she felt as though she was there longer than at other times. Karin could not remember a time when this place had not been present. The dark had never frightened her, although she did sometimes feel very alone. What touched her most was how peaceful she felt, just laying there.<p>

She'd never bothered to move, never even bothered to try. She knew nothing was out there...that it was just her. Honoo was the first to join her there. Her voice and the sound of bells, which seemed to follow her everywhere, were the first noises to enter the space. Karin wasn't sure how she felt about the intrusion. It was _her_ sanctuary, after all.

That night, however, Karin decided to try something new. In all the years she'd been floating in that space, she'd never once bothered to move. When Honoo had appeared, she'd tried and been unable to. Now she wanted to see if she really was frozen in place, or if it had merely been because of her injuries. Staring up into the never-ending space above her, she concentrated on her hand.

Nothing happened. Moments passed as she mentally told herself to move her arm. Again, nothing happened. Getting just slightly frustrated, she put more force into her mental command, clenching her teeth as she fought to do such a simple task. Karin could hear the words echoing through her mind, "I can't be weak! I have to be strong! I will not be a burden!" Still nothing. Her arm refused to obey her demands. Until that moment, she had never felt afraid of the empty darkness surrounding her. As she struggled for control over her own body, however, she began to fear that something was out there...

A tear slipped down one side of her face, disappearing into her black hair. Fear and frustration worked together and she put everything she had into one, last attempt. With all that she was, she wrenched against the invisible bonds holding her horizontal. As she began to fear it would not be enough, she felt the slightest give. Renewing her assault, she opened her mouth and screeched.

As the last bit of resistance disappeared, she flew up and forward, hurting through the nothingness. Spinning end over end, her energy exhausted, she wondered what would happen now. As she tried to figure out which way was up, she saw, in the distance, a glow. It was hardly discernible, really nothing more than a lighter shade of black on the horizon. Deciding that was a pretty good place to start, she tried to swim in that direction. She merely ended up flipping over again. Turning herself back around, she tried to walk there instead. That didn't work either. Making an exasperated noise, she muttered to herself, "Now what?"

"Flying is the only way to travel," came a soft voice. Looking around, rather frightened again that there really was something hiding in the dark, Karin could see nothing.

"Flying?" she asked after a few seconds, "How am I supposed to fly?" She gazed around suspiciously, almost expecting something dark and sinister to dart out at her.

"The same way everyone else does, child; you just look like you need a little _push_," and with that declaration, she felt a nudge between her shoulder blades. It only took that slight touch, really no more than a whisper of contact, to send her moving towards the lightening horizon. As her momentum began to pick up, she spread her arms out just a bit to balance herself. Where there had been only stillness, she could feel wind whipping around her. Her eyes were locked on the far distance, where the black was turning to gray. Then the gray began to materialize into a glowing white which seemed to be radiating out to meet her.

As she entered the brightness, the sound of bells alerted her to a presence on her right. "I'm glad we are no longer in the darkness...It made me sad..."

Before Karin could say anything in response, the world of sleep, which was now a startling white, began fading away. As she blinked herself back into reality, she heard the soft voice from the dark murmur in her ear, "Don't be afraid to stretch your wings, little one."

Once again, she was staring up at the crack. A moment later, however, the pale face of Urahara blocked out pretty much everything. "So you're awake! Good. I've got some news for you."

Shifting around, she looked at him as he pulled back. "What kind of news?"

"Why don't you come out into the living room, so I'll only have to explain this once?"

Grumbling about having to move while she was recovering from being chucked at a wall, she managed to get downstairs without any major mishaps.

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><p>Please review ^.^ I need to eat too...<p> 


	5. A Sword of Legend

A/N: Here's the next chapter, all full of explanations and everything! Aren't you proud of me? Hopefully everything makes sense. I wanted to give Karin something a little different, so I settled on the idea of a "legendary zanpaukto." More than likely I'll give further info as the story progresses; I'm still figuring out how they work myself (but you didn't hear that).

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><p>Karin hadn't been expecting to find what looked like half of Soul Society sitting in their living room. Yuzu was perched next to Rukia, and she patted the couch cushion beside her in invitation. Moving as carefully as she could, the dark haired twin gingerly sat down. Urahara made himself comfortable on a stool so that nobody had to shove in order to see him. The room grew quiet as everyone waited to hear what he'd found out.<p>

"Well," he said, his arms crossed and his head bowed forward slightly. "Without actually seeing her zanpakuto in action, I can only speculate about what's going on."

Some of the Shinigami began murmuring at that, but their neighbors quickly shushed them. He wasn't finished yet. "However," he continued, "what I do know is this: Miss Kurosaki has apparently been blessed with a legendary zanpakuto."

"A what?" came the voice of Renji, Rukia's friend and fellow soul reaper.

"A sword of legend?" asked Rukia, her brow puckering slightly. "How is that possible?"

"That is a good question," came Urahara's response. "It might have something do with Isshin's history as a Shinigami, but that is a completely different story. Allow me to explain what a legendary zanpakuto is, since some of you didn't seem to pay attention when they were going over that in school." Karin heard a strangled sound, which she assumed was Renji swallowing his tongue.

She herself was interested to know why her zanpakuto was different from Rukia's or Ichigo's. Moving around a little, she found a more comfortable position. Focusing her full attention on Urahara, she waited.

"A legendary zanpakuto, or sword of legend as Rukia so aptly put it, is different in a few important ways than other zanpakutos. While a regular zanpakuto is born and dies with a Shinigami, a legendary one has already seen many lifetimes. The sword itself is new, as is the spirit which inhabits it, but they have ancient cores deep within them. Think of them as nesting dolls. The largest doll is the new sword, but inside it dwells the knowledge of each past existence as a zanpakuto. From what I've heard, the zanpakuto in question is the legendary sword of fire. The name itself told me quite a bit, actually. A phoenix dies in a burst of flame, but is reborn from the ashes. However, before any of you get all upset that you don't have one, it's not all sunshine and roses for the person who wields it. After all, the sword isn't always able to access the millenias worth of information they posses. In fact, sometimes the Shinigami will go their entire life and not even tap a portion of that knowledge. Also, the cores of the legendary swords can be…temperamental. In a way, the legendary sword has two spirits. The core and then the sword itself. Some of you had a hard time just subjugating your _sword_. Can you imagine trying to do that _and_ deal with a separate, even more temperamental, spirit at the same time?"

Karin wasn't sure how this was supposed to be helping her. All it was doing was making her stomach roll around in ways it was never meant to move. 'Great,' she thought to herself as her arms wrapped around her middle, 'Not only do I have a _baby _zanpakuto living in there somewhere, there's an ancient one, too!"

A voice came from the far side of the room, and Karin peered around as she recognized Rangiku Matsumoto, Hitsugaya's busty lieutenant. "Would that also explain why it can't be found inside her?"

"No," was Urahara's sighed response. "As to why it's hiding, I can't say. Karin, have you had any conversations with her outside the Hollow attacks?"

Running a hand through her dark hair, she nodded, "I think there's only been one other time, and that was just now while I was asleep. It wasn't really a conversation, though…More like a passing comment."

"What kind of comment?"

"Well, that's a little hard to explain…"was her drawn out response.

"Why?" Everyone was looking back and forth between the two, making Karin feel as though she were part of tennis match.

"It has to do with where we were," she rubbed her head again, feeling a little uncomfortable sharing her dream world with all of them.

"Where were you?" He obviously wasn't going to let this particular bone go.

Deciding to end the game of twenty-questions, she explained, "Ever since I can remember, I've dreamt of the same place pretty much every night. It's dark. There's no light. Anywhere. I'm not sure if I'm lying down because I can't feel anything beneath me. It feels more like I'm floating, but without any movement. Until the last attack, I'd never tried to move. It hadn't seemed necessary. I knew nothing was out there, that it was just me. It was peaceful," here she shrugged, not looking at anyone. "Then, Honoo was there, which was strange. It had always been silent, but then I could hear her bells. She always sounds like bells when she shows up…Anyway, I realized then that I couldn't move, even if I wanted to. Talk about getting a little freaked out. Before, I had never had the desire to move, but then, when I wanted to, I couldn't. After going back to sleep, I was all alone there again. I put more effort into it, and finally I felt something give. I flew into nothing, spinning around for a bit. When I finally thought I was right end up, I saw a lightening up in the distance. There was voice then, too, but it wasn't Honoo's voice. This one was softer but still feminine." At this point, Karin slipped back into the memory, not really focusing on her audience anymore. "Whatever or whoever it was gave me a push towards the light, and then it was white. The black went away. That's when Honoo showed up, saying that she was glad the darkness was gone, that it had made her sad…Whatever that means."

Finishing her recitation, she glanced toward the candy store owner. His head was still bowed, his arms still crossed, but she could tell that he had taken everything in. As the faces turned back towards the ex-Shinigami, he looked up, a weird smile on his face, "My dear, it sounds like you have now spoken to the Phoenix itself."

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><p>Please review. My heart gets happy when there are new reviews ^.^<p> 


	6. Honoo Wakes Up

A/N: Well...Karin is finally getting things figured out, and Honoo is already growing up a bit.

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><p>Karin was a little concerned about going to sleep that night. After what she'd experienced earlier in the day, she wasn't sure if the dream world was really someplace she wanted to be. However, one cannot stay awake forever, and she did have school in the morning. Shuffling to her room around eleven o'clock, she crawled under the covers and lay there. The Shinigami who were using her house as their base of operations were fairly quiet, so it wasn't them which was keeping her from falling asleep. Not only was she a little disturbed by her dreams, now she was also worried about the sheer number Hollows which kept showing up in her neighborhood. The fact that so many soul reapers were camped out at her house was, essentially, her fault. After all, it was her spirit they sensed and were looking for.<p>

After lying on her back for almost half an hour, her eyes finally drifted shut. When she opened them again, she was glad to see that the darkness was not her final destination. In fact, the place she was standing in was bright and full of flowers. It looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite decide why...Then it hit her. She and her family had visited a garden very like this when her mother was still alive. She couldn't have been more than two or three at the time, but there were pictures of it in one of their old photo albums. They had walked through the grounds, looking at the profusion of summer blooms, laughing at the butterflies chasing one another. Her mother had loved places like this...

Before she had time to cry, however, the telltale sound of bells rang near by. Glancing around, Karin saw the bouncing head of her zanpakuto as she jogged in her direction. Lifting her arm, bangles jingling, the cheery sword waved at the girl. "I'm so happy to see you, Karin!" she exclaimed, coming to a stop at her side. "This place is beautiful, correct? Much better than where you were before...It was so dark there."

Karin could only nod, as she noticed for the first time that Honoo's eyes were bright gold. The cheerful creature didn't let her look long, however, for she soon hurried away, calling over shoulder, "You must come see what's over here! It's amazing!"

Walking in her wake, Karin rounded a bend in the path, and saw, a few feet before her a small stream, over which ran a white bridge. On the other side, sat a picturesque home, traditional in style and very natural looking in its garden setting. Reaching the door, she removed her shoes and followed the sword inside. Every door stood wide open, and a wonderful cross breeze was blowing through the building.

Moving towards the back, she stepped outside again, and saw, at her feet, a small koi pond, filled with fish. "Filled with good luck," Karin murmured to herself, a memory surfacing from the distant past. Her mother had said that about koi ponds once...

Again, before the memory could cause anything more than an ache in her heart, Honoo appeared. This time, though, she was carrying a cup of tea. "This tastes very good, if you would like some?"

Taking the small cup, Karin sipped it.

"You like this tea, correct?" asked her sword, leaning forward slightly to watch her face.

"I like this tea very much," was her response, sipping it again. It was warm, but not hot, with just the slightest hint of orange in the very bottom of the sip. It lingered on her tongue for a moment or two, before it faded back into the tea.

She and Honoo sat on the porch for quite some time, discussing things. They talked a little about what the zanpakuto was supposed to do, and Karin explained what Urahara had told them about the swords of legend. "I don't feel very legendary..." was the brunette's soft confession. "I really don't think I'm a very good zanpukto. I can't help you at all! My powers aren't even enough to help you take care of a handful of Hollows..."

Karin assured her that everything would work out in the end, which she hoped was the truth. As the night slipped by, the two young women sat and talked in the light of the dream sun, watching the fish drift through the water at their feet.

All of a sudden, Karin felt a vague sense of unease, as though someone were whispering in her ear, but she couldn't quite understand the words. Trying to focus on it, she still couldn't hear any actual words, but she could feel something rather frightening. Even in the dream, she could feel the approach of a _very_ large number of Hollows. Honoo was looking at her, a solemn expression on her face.

"Do you feel that?" Karin asked her, standing up and looking around.

The girl nodded, standing as well. Walking over to her master, she held out the familiar ball of flame. "I think this should be the last time I have to hand this to you...I think you'll be able to use me now without needing to see me first."

Not quite understanding what the girl was saying, Karin nodded anyway, letting her pass the fire over. When it touched her palm, she saw the dream world begin to dissolve away, allowing her to open her eyes in the real world. Sitting up, she looked around. Urahara was standing at her window, but when she moved, he turned. His eyes registered a slight amount of shock, but then he chuckled just a bit.

"I really shouldn't be surprised," he said, shaking his head as he uncrossed his arms.

"About what?" was Karin's question as she climbed out of her bed.

"Look behind you, Karin," was all he said, pointing back towards the bed she had just left.

Glancing over her shoulder, she was a little startled to see herself still lying there. "What in the-?" here she was stopped as the first Hollow scream reached her ears.

Rushing over to the mirror on her sister's vanity, she saw herself, dressed in the standard outfit of a Shinigami, staring back at herself with wide eyes. "How did-" again she was stopped, but this time it was by the familiar voice of her zanpakuto speaking in her head.

'You'll say my name now? Please?' She sounded so forlorn that Karin headed towards the window.

"If I jump out, am I going to get hurt?" she asked Urahara as she pushed the glass to the side.

"Only if you don't land on your feet," was his response as he pushed her off her precarious perch on the ledge.

Managing to just barely keep her feet beneath her, she hit the ground softly, looking up at the grinning face of the ex-Shinigami. "You could have killed me!" she exclaimed.

"I doubt that," he tossed back. Pointing towards the street, he assured her, "But those could."

Turning back around, she was confronted with a ghastly sight. At least three dozen Hollows, of differing sizes and designs, were milling around. A good eight or nine Shinigami were between her and them. Moving forward, she looked down for her sword. It hung just a little behind her left hip, its hilt wrapped in black and gold. Reaching for it, she pulled it free, taking a moment to study it. Different then the form she had seen before, it was still thin and quite sharp looking. However, she'd have to look it over more carefully after the battle was finished.

Four seconds before she called out her zanpakuto, she heard Urahara's shout, "Everybody down, now!"

All the Shinigami, including her brother and Rukia, dropped to the ground as she exclaimed, "Arise, Honoo Fenikkusu!"

The sword she recognized appeared in a burst of flame, which took out the six nearest Hollows and effectively singed most of the trees and bushes for half a block. Springing back to their feet, the others went back to work, hacking away at the remaining Hollows. Karin managed to get five more before it was all said and done.

After they had all been dispatched, the others gathered around her, looking at her sword with curiosity. "When did you get that outfit?" asked Ichigo, picking at her sleeve.

"I woke up and basically walked straight out of my body," she answered, swatting his hand away. "Which reminds me, what time is it?"

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><p>Reviews, reviews, they're good for you heart ;)<p> 


	7. Ambushed

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I do assure you all that Karin and Hitsugaya _will_ interact soon. As will Hyorinmaru and Honoo...not to give anything away.

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><p>When she got home from school that afternoon, Karin found herself ambushed. Barely had she managed to get inside the front door before Ichigo yelled from the living room, "Hey Karin, come here for a sec!"<p>

Wondering why the house was so quiet, she moved in her brother's direction. "What do-" She didn't get any farther than that, for as she rounded the corner a hand came out of nowhere. Before she knew what was happening, she found herself flying backwards. Well, at least part of her was flying backwards; her body was still standing in the doorway. Landing on her backside, now clothed in the black garb of a Shinigami, she glared at her brother. Rukia was the one who had shoved her out of herself, but she knew Ichigo was probably the one to blame.

Seeing her eyes piercing into him, he raised both hands taking step back, "Don't yell at me. This was their idea." He motioned behind him.

Standing in the middle of the room were three more Shinigami. Rangiku Matsumoto, Renji Abarai, and, surprisingly, Rukia's older brother Byakuya Kuchiki. Before she could say anything more, the solemn looking Captain walked over and poked her forehead. Rukia, who had followed him, helped her get to her feet. Renji, during this, had opened a doorway in the middle of the room, waiting for them to approach before walking through. As she entered the light on the other side of the door, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Urahara standing next to the crumpled form of her empty body.

"Don't worry!" he said, as the doors began closing again, "I'll take good care of it!"

The six of them followed the small, black forms of butterflies into what Karin could only assume was Soul Society. She had heard Orihime and Ichigo describe the place before, but nothing she had been told prepared her for what met her eyes. It was massive. Sprawling out below them were hundreds of buildings. It reminded her, in a way, of the drawings she had seen in her history books of Feudal Japan. Spinning around, she glared at her brother again. "What in the name of soccer am I doing here?"

Ichigo jerked his head towards the older Kuchiki sibling, saying as he did so, "Talk to the noble over there...He's the one who came with the orders."

"What orders?" she asked, looking at each of their faces in turn.

"Miss Kurosaki," began the captain, obviously ignoring her brother's insulting remarks. "It was deemed unsafe for you to remain in the Human World with your present state of power control. While having the Hollows come to us _did_ make our jobs just a tad easier, other humans would have begun to truly worry had battles of such a nature taken place every day in that neighborhood."

"So...I won't get attacked by Hollows?" she asked, glancing towards Rukia as she saw the girl nodding.

"Yes, that would be part of why you were brought here. Also, this will allow you to train, which would include learning how to mask your Reiryoku."

Karin was having a little trouble taking everything in at once. She did manage to ask, however, "What about school? And soccer?"

Ichigo assured her that Urahara would take care of all that.

She scoffed. "You mean like he did with you? What was that lion's name again? Gon or Bon or something? I'm literally terrified to think what will happen to my body while I'm here..."

Ichigo sighed and said as calmly as he could, "Look at it this way, Karin: you're protecting Yuzu by not being there right now."

The comment was enough to make Karin shut her mouth. How could she argue with that? Her younger twin meant the world to her, after all. Gazing back out over her temporary home, she hoped everything would work out alright. However, in her seventeen years, she'd learned not to get her hopes up too high...It just hurt more when you were wrong.

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><p>Please review ^.^ Honoo really does enjoy hearing what you think of her...<p> 


	8. Honoo Materializes

A/N: Sorry that this one took a little longer. I'm not that familiar with Soul Society and how everything works, so I had to do some research on it before finishing this chapter up. As it is, I'm probably off on a few things. Either way, chapter 8 is now up! And before anybody asks, yes she will meet up with Toshiro, but only after they meet Hyorinmaru. At least, that's how it's planned at the moment. ^.^

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><p>Karin's first day in Soul Society passed quickly, with her brother and the others showing her around portions of it. When she was taken to the room which would be hers for the time being, her feet were sore and she could feel a headache crashing her way. She rarely got those, but, when she did, everyone swore she was dying.<p>

As the sun slipped below the horizon, and Soul Society prepared itself for bed, she sat on the floor and tried not to be anxious. However, it was hard for her to not be worried about what was going on back in the Human World. Her sister and father were now left to take care of themselves, and Karin didn't really like that idea. Isshin, Yuzu, and Ichigo were her world, and had _been_ her world, since she could remember. Her mother was a vague face, enhanced by those incessant posters of her father's, and a soft voice deep in the recesses of her mind. The rest of her family, though, were bright and colorful, full of life and something worth protecting. Being stuck in the afterlife was not a place she especially wanted to be.

Finally forcing herself to go to sleep, she lay down with her eyes closed. After a few minutes, she thought she heard a soft rustling in the room with her. Ignoring it, she rolled over. However, only a little while later, she heard it again, this time much closer. Opening her eyes, she looked up. Her head shot forward when she saw the face of her zanpakuto, upside down and backwards, watching her. Their heads made contact with a thud.

After Karin had rubbed some of the soreness from her forehead, she managed to look over at the young brunette. The sword was sitting fully on the floor now, both hands against her own head, tears in her gold eyes. "Owwww..." was all the girl seemed able to say, as she pressed the spot where they had met.

"Honoo!" Karin exclaimed, staring at her for several seconds. "How did you..." She wasn't even quite sure what to ask. The fact that her zanpakuto was sitting feet from her, fully solid and present, was a little shocking, to say the least.

When the petite spirit finished massaging her forehead, she looked over at Karin and smiled sheepishly, shrugging. "I wanted to be with you! And then, well...here I was! I didn't want to wake you up through, so I just thought I'd watch you sleep... I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!"

Karin, deciding after a few more minutes of gawking at her fully materialized zanpakuto, told her to that they would ask someone about it in the morning. Laying back down, she said, as Honoo crept towards her again. "You can come over here next to me, just don't stare at me like you were before...That's just weird."

"Alright," was the other's soft response, as she curled up on the floor next to Karin. She didn't seem to mind the discomfort of not having a mat or bed roll to sleep on. However, after a moment or two, the dark haired twin draped a corner of her blanket over her. Honoo smiled before closing her eyes once more.

The night slowly slipped away as the starlight high above Soul Society lit the two girls softly. When the sun once more lit up the sky, turning it a cloudless blue, Karin looked up to see her sword peering out the window, eyes wide as she took in the new world they were inhabiting. Yawning, she stretched a bit before sitting up and saying, "Well, I wonder what I'm supposed to do now...I don't really just want to sit around all-"

Before she could get any farther, a knock came at the door to her room. Rising, she opened the door, revealing the smiling face of a shinigami. "I was told to bring you to the training grounds, if you're ready to go," the slight girl said.

"Um, give me just a moment, okay?" Karin asked, as she looked down at herself.

"Not a problem!" came the chipper response.

Closing the door, Karin ran her fingers through her shoulder length black hair, wishing she'd had time to get a brush before she'd been so rudely removed from her body the day before. As it was, they really couldn't complain since she didn't have the right equipment to truly look presentable. As she pulled on the rest of the black outfit she'd arrived in and picked up her katana, Honoo came up behind her and began working with her hair. Letting the brunette do what she wanted, Karin waited until she seemed finished. Turning towards her, she gave her an inquisitive look.

In response, the sword smiled softly and said, "You did not have a way to comb your hair, correct? I wanted to help, so I did what I could!"

"Thanks very much," said the new shinigami as they approached the door again.

As it opened, the girl on the other side popped up. "Are you- Oh! I didn't know your zanpkuto could materialize! That's really amazing!" The girl stood and stared at Honoo for a moment or two before coming back to herself. "Right! Well, now it's off to the training grounds. This way!"

As the girl led them along, bright and happy as a spring flower, Karin gazed around her. She remembered some of what they were passing from the day before, but other things seemed new. She wondered if things could move of their own accord in Soul Society...She didn't know but she wouldn't put it past them.

As they neared the training grounds, she began to see more black-clad forms. Here and there among them, she could also make out the distinct shapes of what could only be other zanpakutos. Honoo, who was normally nearly as chipper as their guide, seemed fairly subdued and quiet. Looking over at her, Karin murmured, "Are you alright, Honoo?"

"Oh! Yes, I'm fine!" was the sword's automatic response. "It's just...I feel so young. They all have much more power than me. I don't think I'm a very good zanpakuto, after all."

"Honoo!" said Karin, her forehead drawing together as she the girl avoided eye-contact with the other swords. "You're younger than they are, so you don't have as much practice as them. Don't worry about it! That's why they brought us here, remember?"

"Yes, that is correct," she looked up, a small, hopeful smile on her face as she met Karin's eyes. Gray smiled into gold for a moment or two before they both looked forward again. Passing through a set of gates, they entered the training grounds.

When Karin saw the crowd gathered on the edges, most of them just standing around and talking, she got a little worried. _Surely they aren''t here to watch us, are they_? she wondered to herself as their guide waved goodbye and hurried away.

As Rangiku approached her, however, she got the sinking suspicion that they were indeed there to watch her practice. Honoo was even closer to her side then before, and she could tell that the sword was becoming more intimidated by the moment.

Rangiku paused when she caught sight of the petite sword behind Karin, saying as she came up to them, "I didn't know your sword could do that."

"Neither did we," Karin said before asking, "Why are all these people here?"

"Oh, don't mind them," came the slightly flippant response. "They're just here to watch the test."

"What test?" she asked, eyes widening slightly before a confused expression spread over her face.

"It's nothing to worry about. They're just going to see how strong your zanpakuto is. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes." Rangiku nudged her farther into the ring, pointing towards the far side. "Just draw your sword and fight back against what they throw at you."

"What?" Karin demanded as the older woman walked away.

Honoo and Karin looked at each other again for a moment, before they both turned wide eyes towards the six shinigami opposite them. As Karin pulled the katana from her waist, she heard Honoo murmur, "Uh oh..."

"Yep, Honoo. Uh oh."

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><p>A test seemed plausible, don't you think? Please review ^.^ Honoo wants to know what you think...<p> 


	9. The Test

A/N: Well, after much researching I'm still not sure if I'm fully happy with this chapter. Therefore, it might end up tweaked. However, it gets the story moved along, which allows me to work on the parts I'm a tad surer about. Anyway, please enjoy!

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><p>Karin was slightly frustrated, to say the least. Why hadn't they thought to warn her that they were going to <em>test<em> her? She didn't like pop quizzes at _school_, why would they think she'd like them any better in Soul Society? She watched as the six Shinigami, all of whom seemed to be of fairly low rank, stepped forward. Reaching back, she placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. What exactly was she supposed to do? Was she meant to defend or attack? And, if she was supposed to attack, how?

Honoo, who was still standing slightly behind her, sighed softly before beginning to fade away. "Where are you going?" Karin asked, turning startled grey eyes in the girl's direction.

"I think I'll do you more good if I'm not distracting you with my presence...I will help you from within the sword," Honoo's voice sounded ghostly as her form disappeared completely.

Realizing the truth in what the zanpakuto had said, Karin turned back to once more face her opponents. One of them came towards her before stopping, his hands held at his sides. Then, he was gone. Just as he appeared at her back, her senses had her whirling around to face him. Thanks to the reflexes she'd honed in soccer, she managed to just barely avoid a kick to her side. Jumping out of the way, she watched him warily as he began slowly circling her. His face gave nothing away as he stalked her.

The crowd around them had grown quiet at his move, and it remained so after her retreat. She had to wonder how many of them were wagering on the length of time she'd remain standing. More than a few, she'd guess.

Her attention was brought back forcefully to the test, however, as the young man made a gesture with his hand, saying as he did so, "Bakudo Number One: Sai!"

Her body froze, then she doubled over, unable to move. She was quickly tiring of whatever the game it was they were playing with her. She wasn't having fun... She could tell that the spell he'd cast on her was fairly simple, so she didn't bother wasting energy trying to break free from it. Instead, she turned to Honoo. _What do you suggest I do now?_ she asked the sword.

The girl's voice came back to her, much as it had when she'd been fighting the Hollows, "I think I can undo the spell, but it might take me a moment. It's done something to your muscles."

_Well, don't take too long...I'm not sure how much time they'll give me here_, Karin advised her.

"Understood," came the soft response.

Karin decided to stall by acting as though she were actually bothering to struggle. Wiggling her arms around a bit, she could hear some murmurers coming from the assembled Shinigami. Obviously, they thought she was finished.

It was only about twenty seconds later that Honoo's voice once again rang through her head. "I think that's it. Why don't you try with some real effort?"

Following her zanpakuto's suggestion, she pulled as hard as she could. With an inaudible pop, she felt her body give, allowing her to move once again. Standing back up, she watched the face of the man opposite her.

He, however, returned to his original place, while the second person stepped forward. This time a woman, she pulled her sword and darted towards the older Kurosaki twin. Preparing to draw her own, Karin braced herself, only to have the Shinigami spring up into the air so she could come at her from above.

Honoo spoke again, saying as time slowed slightly, "I think you should try the spell he used on you...It was simple enough, correct? And I shall speak it with you, just in case..."

Karin acknowledge the suggestion, taking her hand off the sword and mimicking the man's gesture. "Bakudo Number One: Sai!" Her voice was echoed by Honoo's and the effect was instantaneous.

The young woman, who had been in the process of returning to earth anyway, now hit it with a thud. Karin flinched. That had sounded rather painful.

It was as the sixth and final Shinigami stepped forward, after she'd faced down several other forms of spell-casting, that she realized something: they really were just testing her. She wasn't being made fun of or mocked; the Shinigami were merely attempting to gauge how powerful she actually was.

As the thin man called out the name of his zanpakuto, she braced herself once more. The last time she'd called Honoo out, using the command the girl responded to, the flora around her hadn't done too well. She was rather concerned about burning something down. However, as the man pointed his now transformed sword in her direction, she knew she had no choice. While he wasn't a captain or anything like that, his zanpakuto released was more powerful than hers as it was.

Pulling the katana from its sheath, she took a deep breath, saying as the man bent a bit at the knees, preparing himself to spring, "Arise, Honoo Fenikkusu!"

The surge of power which shot from her sword had several people dropping to the ground as tongues of flame flew in multiple directions. Actually managing to see some of it this time, she watched as one particular piece of fire wrapped itself around the blade, turning it a molten red before cooling to the golden sheen she was used to. The three bangles at her wrist gave a slight jingle as she pointed her zanpakuto in the Shinigami's direction.

When the two swords met, hers caused his to actually smoke slightly. Apparently, although it looked cool, it was still quite hot. The heat it was emitting drove the man back, until he bowed slightly to let her know he was finished.

The sword returned to normal as she waited for Rangiku to step forward again. However, it wasn't the buxom lieutenant who spoke. Instead, it was a man whose beard nearly touched the ground. Moving slowly, he faced her, saying, "Our sources do seem to be correct in this...It would appear that you have indeed been granted the legendary sword of fire. Your training shall begin this afternoon."

As he turned to walk away, the noise level escalated, until all she could hear was a buzz. Honoo once again appeared at her side. However, it wasn't until Rangiku's hand landed on her shoulder that she realized someone had been saying her name. Looking in the woman's direction, she saw her brother and Rukia to her right. To her left was the spiky white hair and bored expression of Toshiro Hitsugaya. Behind both Rukia and Toshiro stood figures who could only be their zanpakutos. Curious as she was to meet them, something else needed to be taken care of first. Her stomach growled as she placed her hand over it. Before they could ask her any questions, she said, "Does anybody have food? I haven't eaten since lunch yesterday, and I'm starving!"

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><p>Number one way to end any fanfic chapter: talk about food! Reviews are like food to me...Just saying ^.^<p> 


	10. Anxiety Isn't Fun

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter ^.^ Aren't you all proud of me? Karin's having to deal with an anxious Honoo...Whatever is she anxious for? *evilchucklesnortevilchuckle*

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><p>At her comment, Rangiku nearly doubled over, laughter shaking her chest so much that some of the other Shinigami, the <em>male<em> Shinigami, began to stare. Toshiro, who was now only a few inches shorter than his Lieutenant, rolled his eyes at her antics before saying, "Honestly, Matsumoto..."

Sniffling slightly, the older woman straightened herself back up and said, "But Captain, she's so much like _him_!" At this, she pointed towards the orange-haired Kurosaki.

"Be that as it may," stated the icy young man, "control yourself."

Sighing, she wiped the last few laughter-induced tears away, stating with a pout, "Yes Captain."

Turning his head towards Karin, he informed her, "I'm sure we can find you something to eat while you wait for the particulars about this afternoon. Follow me."

With that, he turned and led them away from the training grounds. After a bit of walking, the entire time with Rangiku asking why they couldn't just shunpo there, the group arrived at a large, white faced building. Obviously their headquarters, since it was sporting a big Chinese number 10, Karin didn't bother asking where they were.

Honoo had been silent the entire way to their destination. In fact, she hadn't said anything since they'd finished the test. Karin, while not terribly concerned, kept an eye on her. The normally bouncy and energetic girl was more subdued than her master would have liked.

After an hour or so, and a plate of food happily eaten by the teenage athlete, Karin found a moment where she could take the sword aside and ask her if something was wrong.

At her inquiry, Honoo's face's turned a rather interesting shade of red. "Oh! I'm fine!" Her voice squeaked as she answered.

Karin's eyebrows shot up as she watched the brunette fidget with her sleeve, making the bells that were attached to it chime rather discordantly. "Uh huh...Right. Now seriously, are you okay?"

Refusing to meet the human's eyes, the sword would only nod.

Now, Karin wasn't a prodigy like Toshiro, but she wasn't stupid, either. Obviously something, or _someone_, in the room was making Honoo nervous. Looking around, she saw the busty lieutenant pull something from behind her captain's desk. _Well,_ Karin thought to herself as she walked over, _I suppose it's five o'clock somewhere_...Before the older woman could ask her if she wanted some of the unidentifiable liquor, she said, "Is there a courtyard or something that I could walk around in? I really want to get some fresh air..."

A little startled, but not overly concerned, the woman pointed towards the door and gave her instructions on how to get there. As Karin walked away, Rangiku took a swig from the bottle. Sighing, the woman happily set herself on the path to getting drunk.

Karin led Honoo into a large, enclosed courtyard where they could talk for a few minutes without being interrupted. "Now then, what's really bothering you? Or maybe I should say, _who's_ really bothering you?"

The young sword glanced around before leaning towards her and whispering, "It's the ice zanpakuto..."

"Which one?" Karin asked, knowing now that both Rukia and Toshiro had such swords.

"The male," was the almost silent whisper.

"What about him?" He hadn't seemed terribly concerned about them, so she'd almost forgotten he was there.

"It's just...I feel so stupid compared to him." Honoo's face was now both red _and_ sad, which really made a very pitiful picture.

"Did he say something to you?" Thinking back, Karin couldn't recall hearing him say anything at all, even to his own master.

"No...But I could tell what he was thinking when he looked at me," the zanpakuto was obviously taking the whole thing entirely too much to heart.

"Looked at you?" Now Karin was getting a little frustrated. She knew her sword was very lively and energetic, but was she always this touchy about things, too?

Honoo seemed miserable as she answered, "I'm a disappointment...He looked at me as though I were disappointing. But I tried, I really did! You know that, correct? You know that I'm working very hard to become stronger!" Her eyes were now a little frantic as she tried to make the soccer player understand how much effort she was putting into being a better zanpakuto.

"I know, Honoo. You're working as hard as you can, and so am I," Karin assured her, adding, "And I'm sure he wasn't giving you a disappointed look. He's a little like Toshiro, would be my guess...Sometimes, you have to look below the surface. Will you be okay now?"

The brunette took a deep breath, calming herself down a little as she nodded. "I'm sorry, Karin...I just feel very...jumpy. Being here, like this," she indicated her materialized form, "is rather strange. I'm still trying to get used to it."

"That's alright. We'll figure everything out, so don't worry about it!" Trying to cheer her sword up, she gave a big smile.

Honoo smiled back, although it wasn't as big as it used to be.

Before Karin could say anything else, a 10th Division member called to her that she was wanted in the Captain's office. Apparently, information had arrived for her.

"Ready?" Karin asked the slim sword as she turned to walk in that direction.

The girl squared her shoulders and nodded once emphatically. "Yes!" she exclaimed and followed her master resolutely.

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><p>Reviews are what get you more chapters...*innocent as a little baby*<p> 


	11. Temper, Temper

A/N: Honoo has a nasty temper ^.^

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><p>For Karin, the next few days were very tiring. Apparently, her training wasn't going to be something simple like <em>sword drills<em>. No, instead, she was being put through intensive kido practice. Ichigo's sister had never even heard the word before being dragged into the alternate dimension, and now she was being tested on it? Something just did _not_ add up!

However, she wasn't given much time to either think or complain as the Shinigami put her through routine after routine...By the end of the day, she was usually exhausted. What was even more instructional, though, was the fact that her zanpakuto was almost as tired as her master. The young sword was obviously having to build up her stamina, too. When Karin had asked her through yawns one night why that was, Honoo, who was buried under a pile of blankets, poked her head out and said, "Well...I was asleep until you needed me, correct? Then we came here."

Karin was too tired to answer, so they both fell asleep, dropping the subject. The next time the human reflected on her sword's explanation, she could see the sense in it. Honoo hadn't been in a state to become powerful like the other zanpakutos. While they had been gaining strength through the lives of their masters, the fire sword was operating on only a few weeks of knowledge. Stretching as she waited for the next instructor to begin torturing her, she wondered how the whole "sword of legend" thing played into it all.

Because of the rather combustible nature of her sword, it was deemed prudent to have several precautionary measures in place. She was not to release Honoo unless there was at least one water or ice type zanpakuto in the vicinity, nor was she to do so at all near residential buildings. They had learned that one the hard way during the very first training session. The homes she'd hit were without roofs for a few days...for which both she and Honoo had apologized profusely.

Karin was also pleased to see that Toshiro's zanpakuto, whose name she had learned was Hyorinmaru, began giving the young brunette advice on how to control and contain her power. Honoo took pretty much everything he said to heart, knowing his level of experience was much higher than her own. She confided in Karin one night that he was actually very friendly, in his own way. She was sorry to have misjudged him at their first meeting. The twin could see a bit of hero worship going on where her zanpakuto was concerned, but having someone to look up to never hurt anybody.

In the end, Toshiro and Rukia were usually the Shinigami stationed near the training grounds in case any explosions took place or city blocks caught on fire. Karin kept insisting she had honestly not thought the fire would reach that far, but no one paid any attention. As it was, she'd learned that the 10th Division had covered the repair costs to the homes. Karin was mortified, but what was she to do? She was seventeen, living in a world not her own, attempting to control powers she'd never thought to possess. Was she supposed to have easy access to money, as well? She wasn't _that _good!

After four days of practice, Honoo had seemingly run out of patience with herself. Over the time they'd been working with the Shinigami, the sword had been fairly subdued, which was still making Karin slightly worried. She needn't have bothered. Once the zanpakuto became comfortable with her surroundings, she began acting with much more energy. Granted, her way of showing frustration really didn't help her case for not needing an icy babysitter.

Shrieking, she flared up, small flames crackling at her feet as she stomped one. "I'm never going to get this!" Making a humph to rival a three year old, she plopped down on the ground, which only ended up causing a series of fiery bangs to resound in the air overhead. Glancing up, Karin saw a number of sparks land on yet another set of roofs. Hyorinmaru didn't seem too concerned, however, because he did something disgustingly simple, and they all disappeared.

Walking over the now sullen young woman, he placed his ice covered hand on top of her head and said, not unkindly, "Don't throw temper tantrums until you can control where the temper goes."

Obviously over her fear of him, she glared up at him through her gold tipped bangs. "I don't _even_ want to hear it, Mr. I've-Been-Doing-This-Perfectly-My-Entire-Life!" A burst of flame swept up from the ground she was sitting on, enveloping him for a moment before she pushed him away and stomped off.

Karin sighed, sheathing her katana. She didn't think she was brave enough to try using any of Honoo's power at the moment...They'd probably all die in a raging inferno of teenage angst. After waking up, she was sure aging quickly.

As if reading her mind, Rukia appeared next to her. "I wouldn't let that bother you...She's growing into herself incredibly quickly, which is, quite obviously, causing some mood swings."

Nodding, Karin popped her back, saying, "Yeah. When I first met her, she was like a little kid, just wanting to please everybody. Now, I'm facing down the teeth of a teenage monster, which really makes me hope _I_ wasn't that bad at fifteen..."

Rukia chuckled, informing her, "Zanpakutos tend to take after the more extreme personality points of their masters. Mine has focused primarily on the graceful aspect which I've spent so long striving towards. Hitsugaya's is even more icy and expressionless than he is. It all fits together, if you think about it."

Karin agreed with her, adding, "I should probably go find her before she flares up at somebody else...She'd feel terrible if she accidentally roasted someone."

Rukia waved her away, watching the girl trot in the direction the sword had taken. Whether Karin realized it or not, she and Honoo were very much alike. After all, the fire sword was only an extension of her own inner self. All that fire and passion had lived inside Karin since her birth, and it was about time it had the chance to breath.

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><p>Review? Xiexie!<p> 


	12. Apologize

A/N: Wherein Honoo has to apologize...And what teenager likes doing that?

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><p>Karin didn't have to hunt very long to find Honoo. She wasn't exactly trying to hide, after all. Following the sword's reiryoku, she rounded a corner and came to a halt, watching as her zanpakuto paced back and forth down one of the long, fairly deserted streets near the training ground. The twin could tell there was muttering going on, but the words themselves were indistinct.<p>

Cautiously walking forward, Karin said, "Honoo? Are you alright?"

The sword stopped walking, though her back was facing Karin. "I'm fine," she muttered, rubbing one arm roughly.

Wondering if this is what mothers of teenagers felt like, the young Shinigami stepped forward and said, "I'm serious, Honoo. Is everything okay?"

Spinning to face the human, Honoo glared at her. "Everything's great!" she exclaimed. However, before she could turn back around, Karin saw a tell-tale wetness begin to coat her eyes.

Hoping she wasn't about to get cooked, Karin stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the young sword.

Honoo didn't even bother to put up a fight. At the embrace, she started crying into her master's shoulder, breathing hard as the sobs ripped through her body. It was the type of release which Karin rarely allowed herself, but she wasn't about to make the girl stop. Obviously, she was frustrated with the training and knew she was acting immaturely because of that frustration.

Patting the brunette on the back, Karin asked, "So, what's wrong?"

Finally calming down enough to talk through her wheezing, Honoo admitted, "I hate being so slow! And I hate that every time I do something, somebody gets mad because it wasn't perfect! I'm trying really hard, but none of them seem to care about that. The only thing they get excited about is when I accidentally set something on fire...Then I never hear the end of it."

Karin could understand the zanpakuto's frustration. After all, when one of them did something wrong, they were both usually involved. Pointing towards the training ground with her chin, she asked, "Are you ready to go back and face them again?"

Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Honoo nodded. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and fell into step next to the soccer player. "I'm sorry for the way I acted, Karin," she mumbled a few seconds later.

Glancing in her direction, Karin assured her, "I understand."

"But I'm going to have to apologize to Hyorinmaru...aren't I?" she asked, her head down so that her hair hid her face.

Karin thought for a moment before saying, "I'm afraid so...You were a little..."

"Hot headed?"

Karin chuckled, "Yeah..."

"Not that he couldn't take it," Honoo added, a petulant tone in her voice as she crossed her arms and glared at the ground, although without heat.

"I don't know...I think you might have singed his hair just a bit when that fire engulfed him," the girl tried to assure her sword, knowing laughter was always the best way to handle these kinds of things.

"Really?" asked Honoo, her golden eyes staring at Karin for a moment before she shook her head. "I doubt it, Karin...I think it would take something a whole lot bigger than that to get him."

Karin just shrugged as they reached the place where it had all started. To her surprise, a whole contingent of Shinigami hadn't gathered to see if the burst of flames had led to anything. Or maybe they'd all been shooed away already, she amended as she saw Toshiro talking quietly to his zanpakuto. The young captain didn't like people interrupting any more than they did. In fact, he was one of the few people who didn't scold eternally when they did something wrong.

The tall man with icy eyes turned to look at them as they reentered the space. Honoo started to hang her head, but Karin nudged her before it could drop all the way.

Taking the hint, the fire sword pulled her shoulders back once more and walked over to the man she'd only recently tried to charbroil. Bowing at the waist, she said, keeping her eyes down, "I'm terribly sorry for my attitude and actions earlier. I hope I didn't harm you with my immaturity."

Karin was curious to see his reaction, so she watched his face as the sword apologized. His eyes smoothed out a fraction and his mouth _might_ have risen just a tad on one side. He gave a slight bow in return and said, "No harm done, and I must also ask pardon. You were frustrated and my comment did not help the situation."

Honoo had obviously not been expecting an apology in return, for her head came back and she stared up at him in shock. "I hold no grudge," was her rather halting response.

Karin rolled her eyes slightly. _And _the hero worship was back.

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><p>Reviews ^.^ And be assured, I know <em>exactly <em>where this is going. I just don't want to get there faster than necessary and make the story sound really stupid...Just keep with me! Thanks!


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